Sunday, April 04, 2010

The Flipside of Dominick Hide

I don't know about you but I remember the 1980's with some affection. Once Margaret Thatcher has asserted her authority over the Trade Unions, I recall a dramatic change in Britain. After the misery of the 1970's when we we in danger of becoming one more class-obsessed Soviet satellite state, dominated by industrial unrest, the country quickly became proud of itself again and colour and credit appeared in our shops and on our streets.

While like any decade, it was not without its problems it wasn't such a bad time. Jobs, good music a sense of identity and the light touch regulation that allowed me and many others to set-up their own businesses and buy property without suffocating in government red-tape. If I had a time machine, I might gladly return as might many others, now facing the unhappy consequences of ten years of New Labour's boom and bust machine.

By lampooning David Cameron as an 'Eighties icon' the Government may have delivered a gift to the Conservative Party and conjured-up the very opposite of what they intended, a little nostalgia for a time of almost limitless opportunity and new possibilities for many of us who lived through it and were prepared to dream hard and work even harder!

4 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Many of the problems that the country face today are a result of 80's economic policy. In particular, layers of regulation were removed from the finance sector at a stroke. The deregulation of the finance sector is what has led to the current banking crisis.

Growth reaching 10% was unsustainable and the 'tory' government raised interest rates to 15% in the middle of a recession!!!! The pound was then devalued - Boom and Bust.

As for jobs, I suppose you don't remember 'Boys from the Black Stuff', Yosser "give us a job" as fairly typical, high unemployment and recession.

For those on the make in the city or profiteering from pre-privitisation sells offs it was good times "loads of money" for the majority of the British people the 1980's were a time of misery.

For my wife and I the 80's started with a real down when Margaret Thatcher failed to recognise the government of Muzerawe in Zimbabwe/Rhodesia, thus opening the door for the tyrant Mugabe. The upside was that as former Rhodesian Army officers we were able to build a new life in the Britain of opportunity she created. Having lived with 17 years of Conservative government and 13 years of Labour (new or otherwise) now, we much prefer the former. Brown's government is too much like ZANU/PF for us.

During the period from 1978 to now I have set up from scratch and run four bookshops, the last being my one in Ramsgate that I opened in 1987, all were set up with very modest finance and all were successful until the early 1990s. At some time about 1992 sales started to fall off and expenses continued to rise. This was caused by a number of things partly the value of shop property and therefore business rates rising to a level where a rent related to the value of the building in may cases isn’t one that relates to any business being able to survive in it.

You could say that Margate town centre is an extreme case in point, but the question here for me is really, does either Labour of Conservative have anything significantly different to offer that means as a small businessman I would be most likely to survive?

Now both of the main parties seem to be saying that if the other one gets in I am likely to go bust, frankly I am inclined to believe both of them.

Anon 8:43 there is some truth in what you say that the problems in the banking sector stem from a lack of regulation. However the issue is not the removal of regulation from the 1980's.

This all started with Brown applying pressure to the FSA to operate a light touch and allow such nonsense as mortgages of six times annual income.

The last time labour had a balanced budget was 2002. Since then the debt has ballooned, but all they are promising is to cut the deficit. You do understand the difference between deficit and debt I trust?

As it happens I do remember the early 1980's and "Boys from the black stuff" Another Labour mess the Tories had to clean up. You do remember the IMF bailing Dennis Healey out don't you?

Yes unemployment if memory serves was bad. 3.5 million if I recall. Now the figures are what 3 million? However a total of 8.5 million "economically inactive"

The problems Britain faces today are of Labour's making. Who do you think has been ruining the economy for the past thirteen years? I know you Labour stooges like to try and pin everything on Margaret Thatcher, but maybe it's time you faced up to reality. In 2002 the deficit was £10 billion. What is it now? I will remind you £178 billion.

Labour has saddled generations with debt. The "end to boom and bust" was balderdash. He has destroyed pensions with his £5 billion tax grab and sold 400 tons of gold at rock bottom prices. Who in their right mind would vote for these buffoons?